Tag Archives: book series

One Good Thing

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Author: Wendy Wax
Publisher: Berkley
Genre: Fiction
Source:  Kristin of Kritters Ramblings

 

Goodreads:  From the USA Today bestselling author of Sunshine Beach, a story of four women trying to rebuild more than their lives…

Before you can fix it up, you might have to tear it down…

Embroiled in a battle to regain control of their renovation-turned-reality TV show, Do Over, Maddie, Avery, Nikki, and Kyra find themselves holding tight to the frayed ends of their friendship and relationships.

Maddie must face the realities of dating a rock star once again topping the charts and dealing with her hapless ex-husband, while Avery is caught up in family drama even as she attempts to transform a tiny cottage into a home for the newly impoverished heiress who helped bankroll their last renovation. Put on bedrest, a hugely pregnant Nikki can’t quite believe love can last, or trust in her own maternal instinct. And Kyra, who has secretly put Bella Flora at risk in an attempt to salvage Do Over, must decide whether to accept a desperately needed bail out from her son’s famous father that comes with far too many strings attached…

But friendship is made for times like these, to keep each other—and their dreams—from crumbling.

Ope’s Opinion: This is number five in the Ten Beach Series by Wendy Wax.  Although I enjoyed this one, it did feel a little redundant. This series does need to be read from the first book.  There is too much background you just won’t get if you don’t start from the beginning.   I will read another Wendy Wax, but probably not the  Ten Beach series.

It was interesting to see all the women again and see their relationships move forward.  They really count on each other to help through the struggles.  It is nice to see women who support each other.

As in the past books, the ending was left open, for the next in the series.

Sunshine Beach

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Author: Wendy Wax
Publisher: Berkley
Genre: Fiction
Source:  Kristin of Kritters Ramblings

 

Goodreads:  There’s nothing that a fresh coat of paint and a few glasses of wine can’t fix…
 
After losing their life savings in a Ponzi scheme, Maddie, Avery, and Nikki have banded together to make the most of what they have left, using their determination, ingenuity, guts, and a large dose of elbow grease. It’s Maddie’s daughter Kyra who stumbles across a once glorious beachfront hotel that has fallen into disrepair. The opportunity to renovate this seaside jewel is too good to pass up—especially when they come up with the idea of shooting their own independent television show about the restoration. What could possibly go wrong?

Everything. With the cameras rolling, Maddie’s second-chance romance with her all-too-famous new boyfriend gets complicated, Avery struggles with grief over the loss of her mother, and Nikki’s reluctance to commit to the man who loves her could leave her to face the biggest challenge of her life. Even the hotel seems to be against them, when their renovation uncovers a decades-old unsolved murder which just might bring their lives tumbling down all over again…

Ope’s Opinion: This is the fourth in the Ten Beach Road Series.  You can read this one alone, but the previous books give a lot of background that makes the book so much better.

If you like HGTV and women’s friendships – you will really like this series of books.  Seeing all of them work together again was fun!  It was also good to see their other relationships progress.

There are at least two more books in the series, so we hope to get some closure in those books to all the open endings in this book.

The House on Mermaid Point

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Author: Wendy Wax
Publisher: Berkley
Genre: Women’s Fiction
Source:  Kristin of Kritters Ramblings

 

Goodreads:  Maddie, Avery, and Nikki first got to know one another—perhaps all too well—while desperately restoring a beachfront mansion to its former grandeur. Now they’re putting that experience to professional use. But their latest project has presented some challenges they couldn’t have dreamed up in their wildest fantasies—although the house does belong to a man who actually was Maddie’s wildest fantasy once. . . .

Rock-and-roll legend “William the Wild” Hightower may be past his prime, estranged from his family, and creatively blocked, but he’s still worshiped by fans—which is why he guards his privacy on his own island in the Florida Keys. He’s not thrilled about letting this crew turn his piece of paradise into a bed-and-breakfast for a reality show . . . though he is intrigued by Maddie. Hard as that is for her to believe as a newly single woman who can barely manage a dog paddle in the dating pool.

But whether it’s an unexpected flirtation with a bona fide rock star, a strained mother-daughter relationship, or a sudden tragedy, these women are in it together. The only thing that might drive them apart is being trapped on a houseboat with one bathroom. . . .

Ope’s Opinion: This is the third in the series of Ten Beach Road.  If you liked the first two you definitely will like this one too.  Another house, another time of the women working together and their relationships are moving on. 

The show goes on.  The women have to remodel another home in Florida.

At this point there are three more in the series, so more fun to come!  Where will the ladies go next?

Serenity Harbor

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Author: RaeAnne Thayne
Publisher: Harlequin Books
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Source:  Little Bird Publicity

 

Goodreads:  In the town of Haven Point, love can be just a wish—and one magical kiss—away…

Computer-tech millionaire Bowie Callahan is about the last person that schoolteacher Katrina Bailey wants to work for. As far as she can see, he’s arrogant, entitled and not up to the task of caring for his young half brother, Milo. But Kat is, especially if it brings her closer to her goal of adopting an orphaned little girl. And as her kindness and patience work wonders with Milo, she realizes there’s more to sexy, wary Bo than she’d ever realized.

Bo never imagined he’d be tasked with caring for a sibling he didn’t know existed. Then again, he never pictured himself impulsively kissing vibrant, compassionate Katrina in the moonlight. Now he’s ready to make her dream of family come true…and hoping there’s room in it for him, too…

Ope’s Opinion:  RaeAnne Thayne is a reliable read.  You know when you start her book you are going to get a happy ending and a lot of romance.  This book is a part of the Haven Point Series.  Each book has characters from previous books, but each can be read as stand alone.

I really enjoyed Kat and Milo’s relationship.  Kat was genuine, kind, patient and caring with Milo.  I felt Kat has a real gift with children who have special needs.  That was sweet to see.

This was a very heartfelt story.

The Beach House: Coming Home

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Author: Gerogia Bockoven
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks
Genre: Fiction
Source:  William Morrow Paperbacks

Goodreads:  Bestselling author Georgia Bockoven is at her powerful and emotional peak in this novel perfect for fans of Nancy Thayer and Elin Hilderbrand.

Unlock the door to the beach house…a place where life slows down, people come together, and love is the strongest force of all.

After you’ve given your baby to strangers, what do you say when someone asks if you have children?

Fourteen years ago, Melinda Campbell was fifteen and a half, pregnant and terrified. Desperate to protect her baby from a malicious grandfather and needed at home to take care of her own critically ill father, Melinda makes the most generous, heart-wrenching choice of all: adoption. Now she’s living the successful life her father struggled to give her, but missing her daughter with a longing that shadows every joy.

Jeremy Richmond knows the beach house the way a painter knows his canvas, intimately and focused on detail. His life revolves around his adopted daughter, Shiloh, the girl who’s owned his heart from the moment he first held her as an infant. They were a picture-perfect family until Shiloh was diagnosed with pediatric lupus and Jeremy’s wife walked away.

When Shiloh tells her father she’s tired of fighting her illness and wants to meet her biological mother before it’s too late, Jeremy agrees to find a woman he has no desire to meet.

From the moment Melinda and Jeremy come face-to-face, they realize their worlds will never be the same. Will the beach house that has harbored troubled hearts for decades prove to be the balm they need to heal…?

Ope’s Opinion:  Being back at the beach house was wonderful!  This is a great series.  You can read this one alone, but the back story is great and worth reading. 

I really liked the characters in this book.  I wanted them to work everything out and be happy together.  It pulled at my heart to see them struggle and figure out their relationships.

The ending is everything you would want it to be and more!  I hope if there is another one in this series and we will see these characters again.

No Darker Place

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Author: Debra Webb
Publisher: Mira Books
Genre: Mystery
Source:  Won From Shelf Awareness

 

 

Goodreads:  They want revenge. They need each other.

Detective Bobbie Gentry has one objective: to stop the serial killer who robbed her of her husband, her child and her life. Nick Shade understands Bobbie’s painand her desire for vengeance. He’s on a mission of his own, and the murderer known as the Storyteller is next on his list. Nick knows that the best way to find his target is to stick close to Bobbie. But as she becomes more and more reckless in her attempts to lure the Storyteller out of hiding, he has to make a choice. Will he protect her from herself even if it means passing up the chance to take out one more monster? As for Bobbie, she’s forced to decide just how much she can trust this stranger who knows so much about her. And both of them are about to learn whether or not two broken people can save each other.

Ope’s Opinion:  I think for most mystery readers this may be a 4 or 5 chair.  I am more of a who-done-it reader, so this had a bit more graphic details of what happened at the murder scene to the victims then I prefer.  The intensity was there through the whole book, the story felt realistic and the characters were ones you really cared about.

The beginning was a little hard to understand – I felt like I walked into a part two of a series, but this was part one -( I should have read the prequel ).  From page one the relationships were already developed and it was written as if I already knew the relationships between people.  After a couple of chapters I understood who was who.

Although this is a series, I felt it ended well and wrapped things up for this book.  Some of the relationships were left open, but I felt satisfied with the ending.

Any Day Now

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Author: Robyn Carr
Publisher: Mira Books
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Source: Little Bird Publicity

 

Goodreads:  The highly anticipated sequel to #1 New York Times bestselling author Robyn Carr’s What We Find transports readers back to Sullivan’s Crossing. The rustic campground at the crossroads of the Colorado and Continental Divide trails welcomes everyone—whether you’re looking for a relaxing weekend getaway or a whole new lease on life. It’s a wonderful place where good people face their challenges with humor, strength and love.

For Sierra Jones, Sullivan’s Crossing is meant to be a brief stopover. She’s put her troubled past behind her but the path forward isn’t yet clear. A visit with her big brother Cal and his new bride, Maggie, seems to be the best option to help her get back on her feet.

Not wanting to burden or depend on anyone, Sierra is surprised to find the Crossing offers so much more than a place to rest her head. Cal and Maggie welcome her into their busy lives and she quickly finds herself bonding with Sully, the quirky campground owner who is the father figure she’s always wanted. But when her past catches up with her, it’s a special man and an adorable puppy who give her the strength to face the truth and fight for a brighter future. In Sullivan’s Crossing Sierra learns to cherish the family you are given and the family you choose.

Ope’s Opinion:   Even though Sierra is the main focus of this story, you read about Cal, Maggie, Sully and the other cast of characters in Sullivan’s Crossing. If you have not read What We Found – go get that one first.  You certainly can read Any Day Now as a stand alone, but it is so much better with all the back story from the first one.

Since Sierra is a little protective of herself in her relationships, I like how it took her a  while for her to open up to Conrad.  It was a natural build of their relationship  – it did not feel rushed.

The ending was one you expected and were happy for it.  It brought everything to a nice finish.  I am looking forward to the next book in the series.

Doing It Over

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Author: Catherine Bybee
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Source: BEA 2016

Goodreads:  Voted Most Likely to Succeed, Melanie Bartlett ended up anything but. The down-on-her-luck single mom wants a complete do-over—is that too much to ask? With her family long gone from River Bend, strong, independent Mel is as surprised as anyone to end up in the quaint small town she once called home. But with her friends, Jo and Zoe, by her side, and a comfortable room at Miss Gina’s quirky bed-and-breakfast, she just might have turned the corner on a new life.

Wyatt Gibson never liked the big city. River Bend suits the ruggedly handsome builder just fine. Wyatt knows he’s home, even if that means being charmed by the appearance of Melanie and her spunky, adorable daughter. Is Wyatt’s calm devotion—even amid a coming storm—enough to convince Mel she may have found a home to call her own, a family that never leaves, and a true love to last a lifetime?

Ope’s Opinion: This book falls under the romance genre – it will not disappoint those who are truly looking for a romance ( there are some steamy parts ), but this book is so much more!  It is a great story, some family drama, friendship and a little mystery.  So if any or all of those fall into the genre you enjoy reading, this book is for you. 

Also, this is the first of a series.  This book is about Melanie, the next one is about her friend Zoe.  It will be coming out January 24th, so we don’t have to wait too long!  

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